Not over yet: Floods abate but officials still cautious

The death roll from flooding reached 35 yesterday, even as the Mekong’s waters in Cambodia gradually receded, National Committee for Disaster Management president Nhim Vanda said.

While lower parts of the Mekong flooded last week because waters retreated in its upper parts, all affected areas are now experiencing a steady decline in water levels, said Mao Hak, director of the Hydrological Department at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology.

“The water is going down step by step, but it could be up at the end of the month or in early September,” he said.

Although the situation is slowly improving, Hak appealed for people living along flooded areas to remain cautious.

In a Council of Ministers meeting on July 15, Prime Minister Hun Sen advised all local and provincial authorities to take action for peoples’ safety in case floodwaters were to rise again.